North Country Young Writers' Festival
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 The North Country Young Writers' Festival is scheduled for May 13, 2021, at White Mountains Community College, Berlin campus, COVID permitting (the festival will migrate online if the pandemic continues). This event is geared toward 7th-12th graders from Coos County and surrounding communities; students from the region are given priority registration, with secondary registration given to youth from more southern regions.
The festival director is Alexandria Peary, New Hampshire Poet Laureate. Students will have the opportunity to practice a variety of creative writing techniques, including poetry and fiction; participate in fun games; and meet published writers and the youth poet laureates. This festival is about more than creative writing: it's also about community building and leadership for North Country youth. Students will have the opportunity to decide what will be offered as workshops; they'll have a say in the logo and T-shirt design; and post-festival they can serve on an online student literary magazine as editors, under the mentorship of Alex Peary. North Country students will be in charge of who from the state is published in the magazine.
The festival and these opportunities are made possible through the generous support of the Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund, the Carnegie Mellon Foundation and the Academy of American Poets, and a New Hampshire Humanities Collaborative grant.
Learn how to involve your students
Any teacher, principal, or individual connected to middle and high school student groups can learn more about the opportunity and how to involve students at an informational webinar with Alexandria Perry on November 4, 2020 from 3:00 to 3:30 PM. Please RSVP here to receive the Zoom link.
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Mobile Inventors Lab ~ Free for North Country schools!
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White Mountain Science Inc. (WMSI) has partnered with the Academy of Applied Science (AAS) to offer a new grant-funded Mobile Inventors Lab program for North Country schools this fall!
This free, online project-based hands-on STEM learning opportunity is for 3rd-8th grade Young Inventors.
Dates: Weekly for 90 minutes per team (see WMSI website for schedule choices)
Cost: Free!
Email Mike Carmon at mcarmon@whitemountainscience.org for more information or to get started.
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Social and Emotional Learning & Wellness Webinars
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CASEL CARES is an initiative that connects you with CASEL's global community of experts to address how SEL can be most helpful in response to today’s circumstances.
Through this initiative, free weekly webinars are offered. Past webinars are available for free and include the following topics:
Learn more or see the full list of webinars available
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Youth Writer Submit-a-Thon!
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Join other students from across New Hampshire at this fun online event! Find the encouragement you need to take your next steps toward becoming a published writer!
Join your hosts, Taylore Aussiker, English teacher at White Mountains Regional High School, and Alexandria Peary, New Hampshire State Poet Laureate and English professor at Salem State University, along with your fellow New Hampshire teens as we usher your creative writing into the publishing world.
At the event, we will:
- Find literary journals for your work, places that publish teen authors
- Exchange tips on cover letters
- Gain advice on dealing with literary rejection
- Cheer on your fellow writers as they send out work
- Enjoy cameo appearances by published authors who’ll drop by to give encouragement
- Participate in publishing games for prizes!
Who: Open to New Hampshire residents ages 13-18
When: Wednesday, December 2, 2020, 6-7:15 pm
Where: On Zoom
Cost: Free to NH students
How to Join:
- Send a RSVP by November 30 to Alex at apeary@salemstate.edu. In the subject line, put RSVP FOR SUBMIT-A-THON . In the body of the email, include your full name, middle/high school, and name of your English or Language Arts teacher.
- Look for a Zoom invite in your email by the end of the day on December 1, 2020.
For more info about events sponsored by the New Hampshire Poet Laureate:
https://newhampshirepoetlaureate.blogspot.com/ Follow Alex on Twitter @NHPoetLaureate
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Rebroadcast available to North Country schools
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The North Country Health Consortium is able to rebroadcast, for school or classroom use, condensed versions of the October 2020 conference. This includes Chris Herren's message on overcoming substance abuse. There are versions of 42 minutes, 48 minutes, and 72 minutes.
Schools or classrooms interested in the rebroadcast should contact Greg Williams at gwilliams@nchcnh.org.
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Learning Science Through Research (LSTR Project)
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 The National Institute of Health awarded a 1.25 million dollar 5-year grant to the New Hampshire Academy of Science to help students and teachers in secondary schools in northern NH and VT perform authentic original STEM research and present their findings to the scientific community.
The project will:
- Provide advanced instrument training and continuing education courses to STEM teachers
- Loan middle and high schools research quality equipment and supplies
- Assist schools in transforming their STEM programs to enable problem-based science in line with NGSS
- Provide long-term mentors for students interested in STEM careers
- Sponsor students to present their research at national professional STEM meetings
- Assist students in publishing their research
- Mentor pre-service teachers in performing authentic STEM research in schools
- Guide the development of novel science curricula for middle and high schools
- Offer support from our large community of STEM mentors from regional universities and science and engineering corporations to help students design and perform original research.
For students, parents, teachers, school administrators, and corporations to find out how to become involved, call603-764-5284 or email nhacadsci@gmail.com
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Supporting Social and Emotional Learning
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 A regional partnership of school districts and area agencies serving northern New Hampshire has been working collaboratively over the past few years with a mission to support social and emotional well-being from birth to adulthood throughout the North Country.
This partnership, North Country Partnership for SEL Practices (NCP4SEL), has involved a wide cross-sector of stakeholders, including technical assistance from CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning).
NCP4SEL has created a free comprehensive guidance document to assist school districts and area agencies in implementing and supporting best practices in social and emotional learning.
Follow NCP4SEL on Facebook for more tips, resources, and announcements.
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New Hampshire Energy Education Program
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 The New Hampshire Energy Education Program (NHEEP) has developed new resources, for teachers and students, that are still interactive and NGSS-aligned, but can be adapted to fit virtual, hybrid, or in-class models. Teachers can connect with a NHEEP Energy Teaching Partner who can provide support, guidance, virtual presentations, and more for their classes. NHEEP also provides professional development, which they have adapted to a virtual platform. These resources are offered at no charge to teachers thanks to generous funders.
Contact Anna Hamilton, anna@veep.org, with questions.
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Voices above the Notch Young Poets’ Contest for 2020
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Young people powerful voices, and those living north of Franconia Notch hold especially vibrant and unique perspectives on life in NH.
To support the North Country’s young writers, The Frost Place in Franconia, NH is holding a poetry competition for youth from grades 5 -12. The goal is to encourage and celebrate the artistry, voice, and skill of our state’s budding poets.
Theme: Your life, your place, your poems–your home has a rich poetic tradition. Add your voice to the chorus.
Guidelines:
- Poem should be about you, your community or the landscape around you.
- Poem should be your original creative work.
- There are no restrictions on form or line length
- Submissions should be no longer than one page in length.
Entry deadline: March 1, 2020.
Learn more
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NH Presidential Scholars
Nominations due November 10th
Teachers are encouraged to nominate students who demonstrate outstanding scholarship but who might not otherwise be nominated through the current SAT/ACT or CTE recognition processes. All high school seniors graduating between January and June of 2021 who are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents and who attend public, parochial, or independent schools, as well as those who are home-schooled, are eligible.
Learn more
Youth Leadership Through Adventure
Adapt is offering socially distant YLTA retreats following each district's Covid guidelines this fall. The retreats will be Friday afternoon through Sunday and combine all of the elements of our summer leadership academies and conferences. Adapt will pick your group of 8-10 students and advisor up at your school and bring them to the basecamp in Campton, NH. From there, they will explore all the White Mountains have to offer including; canoeing, mountain biking, rock climbing, kayaking and more. Students will learn about the nationally recognized promising program Youth Leadership Through Adventure and develop an action plan to improve school climate and reduce substance abuse in their respective schools and communities.
Adapt is hosting two groups per weekend. There is currently no charge for this program for North Country schools. To register your group please contact Sean at seanobrienadapt@gmail.com or (603) 236-9227.
Watch YLTA promo video
Wilderness Youth Leadership Development
Open to participants ages 11-17, WYLD is designed as an experiential education program
and includes participation in activities such as hiking, canoeing, kayaking, rock climbing, backpacking, mountain biking, and
wilderness survival skill building. School day and after school WYLD programming opportunities are currently available at no charge to North Country schools.
Promotional video
Flyer
Website
Contact Sean at seanobrienadapt@gmail.com or (603) 236-9227 for more information.
Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching
2020-2021 cycle for grade 7-12 teachers opens on November 1st.
The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) are the highest honors bestowed by the United States government specifically for K-12 science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and/or computer science teaching. The Awards were established by Congress in 1983. The President may recognize up to 108 exemplary teachers each year.
Nominations:
Principals, teachers, parents, students, or members of the general public—may nominate exceptional individuals who teach science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and/or computer science in grades 7-12 for this award year.
Learn more
Grant Seeker Information Session for the Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund
Thursday, November 12, 2020
10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Organizations providing services in Coos County and bordering communities in Vermont, Quebec, and Maine are encouraged to apply for funding from the Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund. Come and learn more about the Tillotson Fund’s strategic framework which includes revised priorities and the new grant application process. Participants will have an opportunity to ask questions and meet program staff. The session will be translated into French. Please feel free to share this information with your colleagues.
To register to attend the information session, please contact Jean Clarke, Tillotson Funds Manager at email jc@nhcf.org or call 603-225-6641 X238.
10 Tiny Self-Care Practices to Try Today
- Close your eyes and picture your favorite place for 2 minutes.
- Listen to your favorite podcast (or audiobook) while doing mundane chores.
- Create a little corner in your home that acts as your personal sanctuary. This is where you can go for a minute or two to take a slow, deep breath, and reconnect to yourself.
- Wake up 15 minutes before your kids do, sip your favorite hot beverage, and read something you love.
- Pen a 3-line poem about your favorite part of the day, or about a difficult part of your day.
- Go to bed one hour or 30 minutes earlier than you typically do.
- Recite a poem or prayer.
- Set a timer for 10 minutes, and journal your response to this question: How am I really doing?
- Try a yoga practice specifically created to help soothe anxiety.
- Ask yourself: What do I need to be well today?
Source: PsychCentral, Tartakovsky blog
Free-For-All SEL and Classroom Management Resources from Conscious Discipline
Job Openings in North Country Schools
There are several dozen openings in school districts throughout northern NH. TeachNorth is your one stop spot to find links to current job postings.
- New services in adult education
- Online assessments for HiSet preparation
- In-person math tutoring (9th grade level and up. Available to college students as well)
Call 752-1927 or email gthebergecoosals@myfairpoint.net for more information.
Opening for a part-time HiSet Examiner for the Coos AEL location. Call the office for details.
Support the mission of NCES
Your tax deductible donation will support NCES' mission. NCES collaborates with public schools and community partners to support excellent and equitable educational opportunities throughout the North Country.
NCES seeks exceptional educational experiences and realized potential for all students.
NCES believes that thriving schools are at the heart of vibrant communities!
The core values of NCES:
Contact Information
North Country Education Services
300 Gorham Hill Road
Gorham, NH 03581
ncedservices.org
603-466-5437
nces@ncedservices.org
NCES is an equal opportunity employer and provider.
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